


Parkadia Falls

by RobynEJeffrey



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amusement Parks, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2018-11-11 08:05:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11144307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobynEJeffrey/pseuds/RobynEJeffrey
Summary: When John Murphy is secretly sent in to Parkadia Falls Water Park to find the source of some theft complaints, he expected to be in and out within a few days. What he didn't expect was to find some actual decent people. Unfortunately for him, finding the thief proves much more difficult, even with the Millers in Security on his side. Perhaps it may be easier if he could keep his mind off of the pretty girl in the Gift Shop with the cast on her arm.





	1. Prologue

“And with that, you should be all set to start, Mr. Murphy.”

“Thanks.”

Mr. Kane had just handed Murphy a pair of khaki shorts and a red polo shirt with a logo on it that read “Parkadia Falls”. The office was quite small. The windows were tinted and there were 3 fans going at once. Mostly browns and blacks, but Murphy got the feeling that Mr. Kane wasn’t allowed to change much of his office. He seemed the type to like bright colors; which, Murphy supposed, was the reason why Mr. Kane spent so much time in the park rather than in his dusty office.

There was a framed photo of a younger girl on his desk and floatation devices and other relevant décor hanging from the walls. It was exactly what you’d expect the manager of this sort of establishment’s office to look like.

“You’ll have to bring your own flip flops, I’m afraid.”

“That’s fine.”

“Do you have any more questions?”

“I don’t think so.”

Mr. Kane put his hand on Murphy’s shoulder and led him towards the door. “Let me know if you have any trouble. This isn’t a position that we’ve had previously. Mr. Jaha speaks very highly of you and thought it would be a good fit. Come back at the end of the day to tell me how it went, yes?” He said all of this very kindly, never taking his hand away.

Murphy was trying to find a way to kindly remove Mr. Kane’s hand from his shoulder. He usually wasn’t one to go out of his way to be polite but Mr. Kane had given him this job by Jaha’s word alone and he didn’t want to screw it up.

He settled on turning around, forcing Mr. Kane’s hand to drop. “Thanks, Mr. Kane. I’ll let you know.”

Mr. Kane had a visceral reaction. “Oh. Please call me Marcus. Or Kane. Never Mr. Kane. That’s far too formal.”

“No problem.” Murphy made finger guns at Kane and then decided that that was a stupid idea and just turned to open the office door.

“Change rooms are to the left!” Kane called out from behind him.

Murphy turned back to him to say, “Got it!” and then opened the door and stepped out into the massive indoor water park that is Parkadia Falls.


	2. The First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I go to West Edmonton Mall World Water Park a little too often.

 

After exiting Kane’s office, John Murphy turned to the left, and entered the changing rooms, under a big sign that read “May We Meet Again”.

He changed into the uniform that he had been given and looked at himself in the mirror. The park wasn’t open yet and he had the room to himself. This was not the type of look he would ever be going for under regular circumstances but he made a promise and he was fulfilling it. He put on some sunglasses to try and make himself feel better about the ridiculous outfit.

Once he was dressed and had properly psyched himself up, he walked back out into the park. It really was something to see. The slides were all sorts of colors and the pool was massive. The theme of the walls and floors seemed to be shades of blue and green. What looked like thousands of beach chairs were spread out alongside the water for guests to claim.

Murphy’s job was to take water bottles to each of the stations and make sure that all of the employees were keeping cool and hydrated while they worked. Jaha created this job for him so that he would be able to watch and observe the running of the park. But Kane didn’t need to know that and neither did anyone else.

Kane hadn’t actually mentioned where he was meant to go to get the water bottles, so Murphy made an educated guess and made his way over to the Information Kiosk, where three people were setting up. It was a small room, with another room leading off on the other side of the desk, which jutted out; blue and rounded and covered with maps and pamphlets.

2 of the 3 people were turned around but the last person was bent over, getting something from a box under the desk.

“Hello?”

The girl popped right up. “Hi? Sorry. What time is it?” She had dark wavy hair and a bright blue shirt instead of his red one.

Murphy looked down at his watch. “9:45?”

“Oh, good; still lots of time. Anyway, what’s up?”

“Uhh… I’m new. I’m supposed to…” He was cut off.

“RIGHT! Right. Sorry. Marcus told me about that. Cool, so you’ll have to go and get the water from the concessions over there,” she pointed out some hut-looking buildings near Kane’s office. “And I have a list for you right here of where to go!” She pulled out a clipboard with a piece of paper on it. It didn’t look too complicated.

“Okay. Thanks.” Interacting with an entire park of brand new people: an introvert’s dream. Murphy was less than excited.

“What’s your name?” The girl handed him the list and smiled.

During this interaction, the other two people there turned around and started to watch; a young man with darker skin and a stern expression and an older man that looked like he could be his father. They had “Security” written on their uniforms. The room that branched off was no doubt filled with televisions broadcasting all of the happenings of the park.

“Uhh… Murphy.” He was distracted by the young man but looked back at the girl.

“Interesting! It’s nice to meet you. I’m Maya.” She held out her hand. He shook it. “How familiar are you with the park? Do you need a map? A tour?”

“Oh. I don’t…” Cut off once again.

“One of the guys who works on Level Five said that he’d show you around, if you want.”

“Level Five?”

“Sorry, yeah. The zip line.” She pointed above them, where the zip line ended. There was a large sign that read ‘Level Five’. “It doesn’t open for another hour so he offered to show you around.”

“That’s okay.” Murphy tried to get out of it but Maya spotted someone behind him.

“Oh hey, that’s him!” She flagged him down and shouted to him. “Finn! The new guy’s here!”

Before Murphy had time to turn around, Finn had his arm around Murphy’s shoulders. More touching. Great.

“My dude,” Finn began, “welcome to the party. They call me Finn. What do they call you?”

“Murphy!” Maya interjected.

“Murphy. Is that your last name?”

He didn’t answer.

“What’s your first name?” Still nothing. “It’s a secret, huh? I’ll get it out of you eventually. How’s about we go for a walk, Murphy?”

They bid goodbye to Maya and set off towards the giant pool.

“Nice outfit. See, I don’t get the choice of khakis and red. Like this is goddamn Parkadia Falls not State Farm, am I right?” Finn didn’t seem to care that none of his anecdotes were getting answers.

“This is the wave pool. But you’re not allowed to call it a pool. You gotta call it ‘The Lagoon’. Stupid rules. But yeah this is Floukru Lagoon,” Finn gestured to the water and then pointed to a girl over in the distance; blonde wavy hair and a determined expression that anyone could see for miles. “And that’s my girl.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” Finn boasted. “HEY PRINCESS!” He yelled to the girl and she looked. She saw who it was and turned right back around, fully ignoring him. “We’re a thing.”

“Right.”

“Anyway, the Lagoon connects to the lazy river. It’s called Slou Yu Rou Daun River. Don’t ask me what that means. I don’t speak whatever language that is.”

“Can we just call it ‘The River’?”

“Yeah but you can’t call it a lazy river. I guess it puts out the wrong idea? I don’t know.”

Murphy had actually learned a lot from Finn so far. Not only about calling things their official titles, but also that Finn wasn’t as cool as he thought he was and that that blonde girl was not  into him at all.

 

******************************************************************************

 

Finn walked him through the whole park, past all of the slides, the first aid and maintenance tents, the kid’s area…

“See it’s called Polar Island,” Finn said to Murphy in a hushed whisper, “but the AR fell off so we all call it Polis Land.” He laughed really loud and then went back to the whisper. “Don’t tell Kane.”

The last place they needed to go was to the concessions. The park had opened by then and people had rushed in, suited up and towels in hand. Half of the chairs were already claimed.

They strolled up to the bar. It was just as colorful as the rest of the park, serving alcohol in slushee form, with little umbrellas. The guy tending it looked at Finn with feigned scrutiny. “Wristband please?”

“No thanks, Jasper,” Finn laughed. “Can’t be drinking on the job…. Today.”

Jasper winked. “Next time, then. Who’s this?”

“This is First-name-is-a-mystery Murphy.”

Jasper nodded. “I can respect that.”

“Planning on going in?” Murphy asked. The guy had black swim goggles on his head.

“Nope. He just likes to wear those,” Finn explained. “Crazy guy, but I like crazy.”

“Drinks _after_ work, then?” Jasper said, directed at Finn.

“Yeah, I’m down. Murphy?”

“Ahh… No thanks.”

“Suit yourself,” Finn shrugged, “I gotta go start setting up.” He began to walk away. “See you on the other side, Jasper!”

“You got it!” Jasper called back.

Murphy made his way next door to the concession. It was labeled “Ice Cream Nation” but they sold nachos, hot dogs, pretzels, and other things as well. There was a large man and a slender woman working them with almost incredible ease. The line was already long but they were not fazed at all.

“Umm… Excuse me?” Murphy tried to get the man’s attention.

He turned, passed a lady her nachos, and looked to Murphy. “Yes?” It was funny to see this giant dude in an apron. But Murphy wasn’t about gender roles so he didn’t mind too much.

“I’m supposed to get some water to pass around the park?”

“Yes,” the man immediately went to the back room and brought out a cart with 2 packs of water bottles.

“Thanks,” Murphy said, grabbing the cart and looking to the man.

The man looked back for a little too long and then said, “Have a nice day,” before walking back to his post.

Murphy started to wheel his cart around and looked down at his list. It looked like he was starting farthest from the entrance and working his way back. His first stop would be Polar Island or “Polis Land”. He looked up from his list and nearly ran into someone. It was the young man from the Information Kiosk.

“You’ll have to watch where you’re going with that thing,” he smiled. He had been intimidating initially but it seemed as though he was actually quite kind.

“Sorry. First day.”

“That’s what I heard! What do you do exactly?”

“I’ve gotta take these all around the park so no one gets dehydrated. In a water park. Dehydrated. In a _water park_.” Murphy felt like this guy was safe to complain to.

The guy laughed. “Man, that sucks. Rough job.”

“I’ll survive.”

“I’m sure you will. I’m Miller. A fellow last-name as a first-name follower.”

Murphy reached out to shake his hand, surprising even himself.

“I’ll see you around,” Miller smiled and then walked back toward the slides.

“Oh, wait!” Murphy caught up with him and handed him a bottle.

“Thanks, man.”

As Murphy was rounding the pool to get to Polis Land, he saw a janitor picking up an empty cup that someone had left on the ground. His curly dark hair hardly fit under his hat. Murphy’s list said nothing about the people that weren’t from a specific station but he assumed that everyone should be protected from dehydration in a water park.

He tapped the guy on the shoulder. He was wearing headphones and got spooked a little.

“Sorry,” Murphy mouthed.

He took off his headphones. “Hi.”

“Hey, I’m supposed to hand these out to the workers,” He held out a bottle.

“I already have one. I brought it myself.”

“Yeah, well, here’s one from me. Consider it a gift.”

“But then I’ll have two.”

Murphy was getting a tad annoyed. “Wow. A janitor AND he can do math!? The whole package. Do you want it or not?”

The guy gritted his teeth and took the bottle.

“You’re welcome,” Murphy took a leaf out of concession guy’s book. “Have a nice day.”

 

******************************************************************************

 

Murphy was ready to go home. He only had one stop left on his list and then he could finally spend some time alone. The gift shop was called “The Trading Post”. When he walked in, he saw shelves of sunscreen, sunglasses, bathing suits, underwater cameras, and of course, all sorts of clothing bearing the logo and the name “Parkadia Falls”.

A tall, blonde girl turned around when he walked in. The gift shop was open to the park with wide arches connecting it to the entrance. There was no bell for her to hear when a door was opened. He actually just ran his cart into the wall. It was much lighter now and he wasn’t used to it yet.

“May I help you?” she asked. Her voice was soft and her face was concerned but kind.

“Uhh… I’m supposed to deliver these to the workers so,” he awkwardly picked up a bottle and handed it to her. “Here you go.”

He turned to leave but a new voice made him turn back around.

“Can I get one of those?”

She had dark hair and olive skin. She had on a navy blue polo shirt that was a little too short on the bottom. She had a cast on her left arm that was signed. She had her hair in a ponytail with the little wispies on her neck. She had a tribal tattoo on her right wrist. She had… She had her arm outstretched. She was waiting for him to hand her a bottle of water. He was taking too long to do that. He was staring. This was awkward. He needed to turn around. What was he doing? Oh no.

“Sorry,” he grabbed a bottle and handed it to her, “I didn’t realize you were here.”

“Story of my life,” she laughed.

The blonde woman rolled her eyes and went into the back room, where the dark haired girl had been a minute ago.

“Ignore Niylah. She cares too much.”

Murphy nodded.

“Are you new?”

Murphy nodded again. Any words he may have had were crawling back down his throat. Being lost for words was not something he was used to.

“I’m Emori.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

She smiled, “you think so? What’s yours?”

“Murphy.”

“Murphy?”

“Well, John.”

“John. Well I think John is a pretty name.”

He smiled and looked down. “Don’t go spreading it around.”

“I won’t,” she promised. Just then, a customer entered the store. “Thanks for the water.”

He nodded and turned to leave. Perhaps he had judged this place a little too quickly.

 

******************************************************************************

_Jaha,_

_Day 1 is finally over. It was long. I haven’t met everyone yet but once I do, I should be able to make a decision as to which sector of the park is the source of the complaints. We’ll shut it down as soon as I’m able to tell._

_John_


	3. Behind Closed Doors

 

_Jaha,_

_Day 1 is finally over. It was long. I haven’t met everyone yet but once I do, I should be able to make a decision as to which sector of the park is the source of the complaints. We’ll shut it down as soon as I’m able to tell._

_John_

 

******************************************************************************

 

_Murphy,_

_Stay vigilant._

_Wells._

Wells pressed send and sat back in his office chair. He hadn’t gotten to the email until later and didn’t expect one back until tomorrow.

The office was spacious. It was one of those rooms with the floor-to-ceiling windows. He was working under a desk lamp with papers strewn about; complaints from various patrons about lost items, potentially stolen from their beach chairs by a mystery employee.

It was strange to him that they had hired someone who would choose to intentionally take things from people. They had an extensive selection program, complete with background checks. Wells was surprised that the security team hadn’t been able to find anything. Murphy had been chosen to go in and find out who the thief may be.

A voice came through the intercom on the phone, “Wells, have you finished writing that email to John?”

Wells rolled his eyes and pressed the button to answer, “Yeah, it’s done.”

“What did you say?”

“I just told him to keep looking,” Wells answered, exasperated. “I don’t know, Dad. The email wasn’t even addressed to me.”

“Assistants answer emails, Wells. If you’re going to take over for me one day, you have to learn.”

“I get it.”

 

******************************************************************************

 

The Jahas got into the office early the next morning. This was not ideal for Wells, considering they left so late the evening before.

Wells was Rapunzel in her tower, looking down into the park from his office window. Sometimes, when his father hadn’t given him anything to do, he would simply sit and watch.

He liked to create stories for some of the people that he would see often. There was this blonde lifeguard that was most interesting to him. Sure, maybe what he was doing wasn’t the most ethical. Maybe it was a tad creepy. Maybe. But it was one of the only things that Wells could do to keep sane.

He tried to remember all of the employees but the blonde girl was the one he imagined most complexly. He thought maybe her name was Charlotte. She really liked to be at the park. She seemed to be there just about every day. Either she really liked to work or she badly needed the money. Unfortunately, she seemed to have a boyfriend, with dark hair and a ridiculous man-bun. He worked on the Level Five zip line and was close to the height of Wells’ window. Sometimes the guy would look in and wave.

Until Murphy, that was the only interaction he’d ever had with someone from the park. His father kept him so occupied that he wasn’t even allowed to visit it. When Murphy walked in for a meeting with his father, Thelonious was running a bit behind. Wells was able to talk with Murphy for a few minutes.

When he found out that Murphy was going to be working in the park, he nearly asked him to find out something, _anything_ he could about the blonde girl. Charlotte, maybe. But he decided against it.

Thelonius gave just about every job he had to Wells. That meant, every job that he didn’t want to do. But none of that work included employee files. Loads of times, Wells thought about sneaking into his father’s office and finding her file. But he could think of several cons to go with any one pro.

He wouldn’t even know which drawer to look in. His father didn’t allow him in the room. And if he found the drawer, he wouldn’t know what name to look for. What if there were no pictures to go with them? Did he even know what she looked like up close? Far too risky.

Today, his father had a meeting with the two founders of a company that was interested in helping run the park. Twin sisters, he’d been told. That wasn’t until 2pm and the park didn’t open for another 2 hours. Nothing for Wells to do. No one for Wells to watch. There are only so many games of solitaire you can play.

 

******************************************************************************

 

A woman in a red dress entered at _exactly_ 2 pm. She must’ve been the most punctual person in the world. She moved nearly mechanically toward Wells with a black portfolio case and her long, dark hair in soft curls.

“Good afternoon. My name is Alie Pramheda from City of Light Enterprises. Has my sister arrived yet?”

Wells was taken aback by how perfect she was. But perfection wasn’t interesting and he preferred blondes. “Uhh… No. Sorry. No one else has come in today but you.”

“I understand. I apologise for her tardiness. May I take a seat?”

“Of course,” Wells gestured to the plush chairs to the left. “Should I let Mr. Jaha know you’re here?”

“You may wait until my sister arrives.”

“Sure.”

Why did Thelonius need to sell half of the company? He was King Midas. Everything he touched turned to gold. Wells couldn’t see anything in the books that pointed toward a financial downfall.

He and Alie sat in silence for a few minutes. He felt awkward. It was clear that she didn’t. Did she feel anything at all? Ever?

A woman ran in, the exact carbon copy of Alie, only tired and wild, with a messy ponytail and a white dress, to Alie’s red.

Alie stood. “Becca.”

“Here I am!” Becca beamed.

“You’re late.”

Becca turned to Wells. “What time is it?”

"Uhh,” Wells looked to his watch. “2:05?”

She looked to Alie with a face full of triumph. “That’s not bad! I’m practically early.”

“For you, I suppose,” Then, to Wells. “Please notify Mr. Jaha to our presence.”

Wells scampered to the door of his father’s office. Before knocking, he turned back to see Becca trying to get a high five out of her sister.

“Sir? Alie and Becca Pramheda of City of Light Enterprises here to see you?”

“Thank you, Wells. Let them in.”

 

******************************************************************************

 

Alas, the office doors were more sound-proof than Wells would’ve liked. At 3pm on the nose, the sisters exited and went their separate ways. Becca smiled to him as they left, but Alie was all business. Wells imagined that they were never hard to tell apart.

Jaha came out next. He had a satisfied smile painted on.

“How’d it go, Dad?”

“Very well.”

“Are you going to sell the company?”

“We’ll see.”

“Anything left to do today?”

“Not particularly.”

Wells’ life felt like it had been leading up to this moment. He only ever had the chance to ask every 3 months or so. “Want to go down to the park, maybe?”

The painted smile was replaced by perplexity and then disappointment. “You know the answer, Wells.”

“But why?”

“It doesn’t matter why.”

“You never go to check how it’s going down there?”

“I have Kane for that.”

Wells went over to his father and practically begged.

Thelonious rolled his eyes, “Why do you need to go so badly?”

“Because it looks like fun? Because I’ve never been?”

“You have.”

“When I was 8!”

“So you have.”

“Dad. Please.”

“Not today.”

And that was the end of the discussion. Thelonious walked back into his office and Wells was left broken once again by the knowledge that he may never leave the tower. Father Gothel watched over him like a hawk. He had no magical hair, nothing special about him at all. Why was he locked up there for eternity?

Sometimes Prince Charming is the one who’s trapped. If only a beautiful, blonde princess would come to rescue him.


	4. Taking A Hint

 

Sometimes Prince Charming is the one who’s trapped. If only a beautiful, blonde princess would come to rescue him.

 

******************************************************************************

 

“There’s my beautiful, blonde princess!”

Clarke nearly vomited. She chose not to turn around.

“Shouldn’t you be working?”

“I’m on break!” Finn approached her with his arms outstretched. When she didn’t reciprocate his hug, his arms dropped. “What’s up?”

“Just making sure no one drowns. It’s my job.”

“Cool cool cool. Yeah, my job is to make sure no one falls and squishes someone.”

“You should do that.”

“I’m on break!”

Clarke finally took her eyes off of the pool. “Indra can’t do it alone, can she?”

“She’s on break, too!”

Clarke shook her head at him and began scanning the pool again. “Indra doesn’t take breaks.”

“Then she’s just sitting up there staring at nothing, I guess. What’s wrong, Princess?”

She gave him a seething look.

“You don’t like when I call you Princess. Do you, Princess?”

“Go away, Finn.”

He threw his hands up in fake surrender. “Have it your way, Gorgeous. I’ll see you around.”

“I hope not,” Clarke muttered as soon as he was out of ear shot.

Clarke came to work just about every day. It wasn’t because of the money or the tropical ambience or the cute girl who worked in Polis Land who gave swimming lessons to kids. It was because she loved being there. She loved the smell of chlorine and how sometimes kids would ask her questions about her job. She loved how happy people were to be there and how you could hear people shouting from the slides. She loved how lovely most of her coworkers were and how great the food was. But most of all, she loved being able to see her Mom from across the pool.

Abby was extensively trained in first aid, as was Clarke herself, but she preferred being out where the action was. Every day, when she was able to go on break, she went to Ice Cream Nation and brought her mother a snack.

Abby worked a lot when Clarke was younger, when the park was just starting out and they had little staff, so she would spend most of her days with Jake, her dad. Abby always seemed to regret this, so when Clarke was given the opportunity to work nearly alongside her, she jumped at it. Jake passed away when Clarke was a teenager. Seeing Abby felt like a luxury.

After another hour and a half of blowing her whistle at the kids who would try and climb the walls during the waves and the fathers with their daughters on their shoulders, her friend Luna came to relieve her, so she could walk around.

Luna usually worked in Polis Land with the cute girl (who Clarke still didn’t know the name of because she was always too nervous to ask Luna), but came over for half an hour to help out, insisting that “Floukru Lagoon felt like home”.

Ice Cream Nation always had a massive line. Somehow, Roan and Echo were able to keep on top of it. No one ever helped them, no one ever needed to. Luckily, Roan had a bit of a soft spot for her and she was able to skip the line.

Those who worked in the first aid tent were never bored. There was always a crying child to give a bandage to or someone who needed to lie down after they attempted their most extreme slide, The Dead Zone.

Clarke pushed open one of the flaps of the tent. Her mother was putting a large bandage onto a little boy’s knee. His father was standing behind them, looking nervous. Once she had finished securing it, she gave it a kiss, “you should be able to continue your day now, sir,” she said to the boy.

The dad answered, “What do you say, Ethan?”

“Thank you?”

“That’s right,” the father told him, in a sweet voice. “Sorry, he’s only five.”

Clarke smiled to them as they left and handed her mother a churro.

Abby chuckled, “If you keep bringing me these, I won’t be able to get out of this tent.”

“And something for Fido,” Clarke tossed a chocolate bar to the young man in the corner.

Eric Jackson was one of Clarke’s earliest friends. He had lost his mother at a young age and had spent a lot of time with Clarke and her father, when they would go to the ice cream store. He followed Abby just about everywhere. He respected her so much. Clarke liked to poke fun at him, calling him Doctor’s Pet, Spot, Rover, and any other dog names you could think of.

Jackson caught it and said, “Bark, woof,” in an almost deadpan voice, but a smile slipped through.

Just as he was saying it, though, another young man entered the tent. He had a cart filled with water bottles on it. He was brand new, Clarke thought. She saw him with Finn yesterday, and that wasn’t a good sign.

Jackson looked nearly mortified at this first impression. “Bark, woof,” is not usually something you hear from someone you’d want to hang out with, at least that’s what Jackson expressed later.

“Water, anyone?” the young man offered.

Jackson took one, looking to the ground, embarrassed.

Abby took one as well, “Thank you…?” She was looking for his name.

“Murphy,” he answered.

“Thank you, Murphy,” Abby said again, nodding in appreciation.

Clarke was handed one, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Murphy muttered, “Have a nice day.”

Turning back to her family, Clarke executed the usual small talk. She sat down on one of the cots and Jackson sat next to her.

Clarke was thrown off guard when their boss walked in. Clarke didn’t know him very well but she knew that he was around when the park first opened, and that he and her mother had become really close since then.

“Hello, folks,” Kane smiled as he pretended to casually saunter in, “was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to say hello.”

“Well, what a pleasant surprise,” Jackson smirked, “Clarke, we should go and do something else.”

“Huh?”

Jackson looked her in the face. “Let’s go, Princess.”

Clarke’s mouth fell open in fake indignation. He knew he hit a nerve and pushed her out of the tent. They began walking toward the slides.

“What was that about?” Clarke asked, genuinely confused.

“I hate to be the one to tell you this, Clarke, but your Mom’s dating that dude.” Jackson told her.

Clarke’s face to eye ratio doubled. “What!?”

Jackson laughed out loud, “Yeah. I can’t believe you didn’t know.”

“Well, how do _you_ know?”

He rolled his eyes, “First of all, it’s been going on for weeks. You know he wants to talk to her privately when he comes in as if he just _happened_ to choose us like ‘oh, yes! First aid! Indeed, safety! Health! Here is where I shall visit today!’ as if he doesn’t show up as often as he can.”

Clarke thought to herself, going through every encounter from the last month. “Oh my god… He _has_ been really weird lately.”

“It’s because he’s your new dad.”

Clarke shifted her weight and pulled her hand out to smack him on the shoulder. “Jackson! No one replaces my dad.”

Jackson’s energy went down immediately, “Right. Sorry.”

They had gotten to the Information Kiosk where they saw Maya and waved. Jackson took a second longer to look.

“Trying to find Miller Junior?” Clarke teased.

Jackson swung around and stared at her wide eyed. He took a moment to make his point with his face and then, “Shh.”

“Sorry. Didn’t know it was a secret,” Clarke teased, quietly.

“Shut. Up.”

As they turned back toward the pool, they saw Kane leaving the tent.

“I guess I should get back,” Jackson announced, “and get away from you.”

Clarke giggled and pushed him away, “Whatever.”

Jackson ran up ahead but Clarke stayed back. She still had a few minutes until she had to take Luna’s place again.

She spent that time looking out into the park. This place that meant so much to her. This place that was basically home.

She looked up and saw Finn on the Level Five platform. He seemed to be waving to someone in the offices above.

It’s not that Finn wasn’t nice. He was. But when someone won’t take a hint and will go so far as lining their work schedule up with yours, they become a little less fun to be around. Maybe in another life Clarke could’ve dated him, but certainly not in this one.

As she was looking up, she accidentally stepped on something. It had been a pile of dirt that someone had been sweeping. The guy was 5 feet away, with his headphones in. If she remembered properly, he was also fairly new. She’d tried to smile at him a few times but he never smiled back. She got out of there before he noticed and tried to get all of the dirt off of her flip flops before having to go back on duty.

Clarke found Luna. She had been pacing around the pool. Once she saw Clarke, she turned to go back to Polis Land. Clarke grabbed her arm and Luna looked back at her.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Clarke couldn’t feel her feet, “Umm… Who’s that girl that you work with?”

Luna looked puzzled, “Who, Lexa?”

Clarke’s smiled brightened, “Yeah, probably. Thanks.”

“Okay,” Luna chuckled, “funny girl.”

As Clarke watched the families play for the rest of the afternoon, she did some thinking.

She thought about Lexa and how she could start up a conversation. Maybe bring up her waterproof eyeliner and where she could find some? Ask her what it was like to work in Polis Land?

But other questions came into her mind, too.

Would Kane end up being her step-dad? Would that bother her? Would everyone at work start to think that she was getting special treatment when she was actually just working hard? Would it be really crazy to finally have a sister?


	5. It Takes Two

 

Would Kane end up being her step-dad? Would that bother her? Would everyone at work start to think that she was getting special treatment when she was actually just working hard? Would it be really crazy to finally have a sister?

 

******************************************************************************

 

This was her favorite place to be in the whole world. She could feel the cool of the plastic chair on her back, hear the lap of the waves, smell the chlorine and sunscreen, see the colors through the tint of her sunglasses, and taste the shadow of the slush she just finished off. What could make this better?

How about two enormous shadows materializing on either side of her, signalling the appearance of her favorite people in the world?

 “You’re in my light,” she smiled, lifting her glasses.

“That’s really too bad,” one pouted, “Would you rather go over here, Octavia?”

The two men picked up her chair and started walking across the “beach”. Octavia squealed in surprise.

When they put her down, the other one leaned down, “over here where we can’t obstruct your vision any further?”

Octavia motioned for the first to come down as well and swung her arms around them both. “I wouldn’t have my vision obstructed any other way.” She kissed them both on the cheek.

“Hey!” They heard from behind them. They all looked back. Kane was standing there. “Octavia, don’t you think Lincoln and Ilian should be doing their jobs?”

“Can we hire them as my personal assistants?” Octavia smiled and shouted back.

“Don’t we do that for free already?” Lincoln mumbled under his breath.

Octavia elbowed him in the side, shushing him playfully. He stumbled back with feigned injury.

Ilian ran to his side and Lincoln put his arm around him. “We won’t talk to her anymore, Marcus,” Ilian promised. “She seems to have a violence problem,” he assured him, turning to Lincoln to make sure he was okay. They limped off toward the first aid tent.

Octavia watched them go, holding the silver butterfly around her neck, a present from the both of them.

Once they got to the other side of the pool, they turned back and waved. She waved back.

Ilian, hair that went down to his shoulders; Lincoln, nothing but rough stubble. Lincoln, jagged tattoos across his chest and arms; Ilian, no ink to be found.  Ilian, all laugh lines and optimism; Lincoln, smiles with his eyes and his words; Ilian, a difficult past that shines through; Lincoln, forced to be stoic, can’t help but be kind.

How could she possibly choose? It wasn’t fair. The best part was that she didn’t have to. No one minded sharing.

Kane came up behind her, “you don’t need to be distracting them here, Octavia.”

She turned her face toward him, “like landscaping really has much to do in an indoor park?”

Kane looked down, nervous, “if Jaha ever came down and saw them… I just wouldn’t want to know what he would say.”

“Seriously?” She rolled her eyes, “He _never_ comes down. He doesn’t care, Dad!”

“He might. He owns the park. It’s up to me to make sure it’s running smoothly and we’re not wasting his money.”

Kane wouldn’t even look Octavia in the eyes. She knew how frightened he was of Jaha. They had been business partners when the park was starting out. Those two and Abby built it from the ground up. Yet Jaha, with the most money, became the true owner.

What had happened between them that made Kane so afraid? What could have possibly stopped them from being such good friends? Octavia remembered Jaha coming over for dinner when she was younger. She remembered his son and she wondered where he was now.

“Who cares?” She exclaimed, “So what if Jaha owns the park? _You’re_ the one who cares about it. _You’re_ the one who’s here every day.  Everyone here associates the park with _you_. _You’re_ the heart of this park.”

He smiled weakly.

She nudged him with her arm. “Hey. If you want everyone to know who owns it so bad, might as well rename it to ‘Camp Jaha’. Would that make you feel any better?”

He looked up, “No. I would hate that.”

Octavia laughed, “me too!”

“Octavia, I need to tell you,” he looked serious again. “I’ve invited some people over for dinner tonight.”

“Oh?” Her father didn’t enjoy company. This was quite out of his comfort zone, “Who?”

“You may invite Lincoln and Ilian, if you like,” he avoided the question. “It’ll be nice to have a few more people there, I suppose.”

“Dad, who?”

“I wonder if… Should I invite the Jahas as well?”

Octavia grabbed both sides of him. “Who did you invite?”

“The Griffins. Abby?”

“Oh,” not as much of a shock as she had expected. “And Clarke?”

Kane looked sheepish, “And Eric Jackson, as well. He’s been staying with them.”

Octavia flashed a sweet smile, “I think that’ll be nice! In that case, I think you _should_ invite the Jahas. It’ll be nice to have the trio back together.”

“And, of course, you should invite the rest of _your_ trio.”

Octavia spun around to look for them.

Kane spun her back, “ _after_ work?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Octavia picked her towel up off of her chair and began to make her way back to the changing rooms. Kane went back into his office.

After depositing her towel and glasses into her locker, she went back out, waved to Niylah in the gift shop, and made her way up the flights and flights of stairs to her very favorite slide: The Dropship.

It wasn’t her favorite because it was the best. It was her favorite because she got to visit with the lovely girls who worked up there.

It wasn’t a busy day at the park, so there wasn’t much of a line to wait in. If Octavia had wanted, she could simply bypass the line. “I’m the manager’s daughter,” she could say. But she chose to wait because if Lincoln and Ilian had taught her anything, it was that patience and respect meant a whole lot more than power.

“Good afternoon, Miss Octavia,” she heard as she made her way to the front of the line.

She shivered, “Ugh. Zoe, please. That’s far too formal.”

Zoe laughed. “Going straight down or would you like to stop in for a chat?” She motioned to the slide right next door. “Little Miss McIntyre’s slide has ‘broken down’ again.”

Octavia could hear the finger quotation marks without even having to look. She pulled her long, dark hair up into a ponytail. “Accidentally on purpose, Harper? Looking for a companion in the maintenance division?”

Harper pouted a little at the jokes, “Accidentally, this time! I swear! But I wouldn’t say no to whoever may come up and help sort this out.”

“Sorting things out is my specialty,” came a new voice from the stairs.

Harper’s face fell, “Raven… I thought you might not be able to come up all of the stairs with your leg and all.”

“Don’t look so disappointed,” Raven smiled. “I told Sinclair I could do it and here I am. What happened?”

“Button,” Harper pointed to the control panel.

“’If the Mount Weather slide keeps breaking down, we might have to replace it altogether,’” Raven lectured, limping over to the control box, “That’s what Sinclair said.”

“Don’t need to go that far,” Harper mumbled.

Raven leaned down and flipped a single switch, “It was turned off,” she looked back up at Harper with amusement.

Harper shrugged.

“He’ll send Monty up _next time_ ,” Raven smiled, “Don’t make that tomorrow, okay?”

Harper sighed and nodded. Raven made her way back down the stairs.

“It was _off_ , Harper?” Zoe said, arms crossed. “Really?”

“I don’t know!” Harper exclaimed, defensively.

 

******************************************************************************

 

After sliding down, as Octavia was getting out of the exit pool, she noticed a boy she had never seen around the park before. But he reminded her of someone that she used to know a long time ago. He had dark curly hair and headphones on. She wanted to talk to him. Just in case. If he wasn’t who she thought he was, she could simply just tell him that wearing headphones in a water park was probably a bad idea. Laugh it off as a joke. But if it was him, well she wasn’t sure _what_ she would do. It probably wasn’t. But just in case…

She tapped his shoulder. He turned and his face changed completely.

“Octavia?”

“Bellamy.”


	6. Separate

 

She tapped his shoulder. He turned and his face changed completely.

“Octavia?”

“Bellamy.”

 

******************************************************************************

 

Given the circumstances, he shouldn’t have been that surprised. Hindsight is 20/20. After he got home from work that day, he looked around his shabby apartment and thought about all of the clues he should have seen that would have prevented him from taking the job.

He had tried to explain to her that he didn’t know where she would be. That he wouldn’t have come there if he had known. That he wasn’t following her.

He was worried about her thinking that he might be trying to take her back or stalk her but against his expectations, she believed him.

She insisted that it must be fate that they meet again. That they were meant to be in each other’s lives. That the park is somewhere that dreams come true.

Bellamy had told her that Parkadia Falls was not Disneyland. He didn’t believe in fate.

She went by Octavia Kane now. She had been adopted over 10 years ago but he remembered the day so vividly because it had been the last time he had seen her.

 

******************************************************************************

 

The orphanage had been stuffy; dusty, grey, just generally sad-looking. She was 9 years old. He had been 16. They had already lived there for a year and a half after being taken out of an abusive household by child protective services.

It had been a regular disappointing Saturday for the Blake siblings as they sat in the recreation room playing board games and cards, while their peers all around them were taken into loving homes one by one. Never did they expect to be claimed by anyone.

Octavia would have had a chance if she was willing to be separated from her brother, and although he had tried to get her to go tens of times, she refused to leave without him.

Aurora, the assistant and receptionist for the orphanage had lost children herself and had taken a liking to them. In her meetings with prospective parents, she always talked them up. But Bellamy understood that no one wanted to commit to taking in a 16 year old boy with a mischief habit.

But that Saturday was different. After many of the other children had been chosen, after they said goodbye to the friends that they had tried to stay distant from, knowing they’d soon be gone, Aurora called the two into her office.

“There’s a nice man here who’d like to take someone home today,” she had smiled at them.

“But he doesn’t want two kids, we’ve heard it before,” Octavia crossed her arms and slouched in her chair.

“That’s right,” Aurora sighed, “But Octavia, he seems very nice. He’s looking for someone in your age range and I really feel like you might be a good fit.”

Octavia looked over at Bellamy. “But if Bellamy can’t come with me, I don’t want to go.”

“I know, but I was thinking you might reconsider,” Aurora chided. She looked to Bellamy for some help.

He turned to his sister and put his hand on her knee, “O, you know that I’ll always be with you.”

“But not in person,” her eyes filled with tears.

“Maybe not in person, but I’d probably be a better brother in your head anyway, right?”

She turned her face to him, aghast, “Never. I don’t know what I’d do.”

Aurora interrupted, “Bellamy’s nearly eighteen now, Octavia. He’ll be out of the system in two years and he can find you again.”

“Do you promise, Bell?”

“Of course I do,” he smiled; his eyes filled too, but did not flood as hers did.

As he helped her pack her things and as she walked out the door to meet her new family, he promised himself that he wouldn’t go see her, if he had the chance. Her adopted father would never know that she had a brother. They thought that he might not want to break them apart if he had, and find someone else to take care of. He knew that she would be happier with this man and that coming back into her life could bring back memories that were unnecessary and heartbreaking. He swore to himself that once he got out, he would leave and never look back, for her sake.

He once thought he had seen her in the street and turned around to hide behind a corner, not wanting to know what she would say when she saw him. He was sure that she would yell and cry, screaming at him for taking too long and never trying to find her. She would surely accuse him of never loving her, of forgetting her, of not caring whether she was alright.

And he would agree, thinking that if someone had to be a coward, he would make sure it was him.

 

******************************************************************************

 

So as he lay in bed that night, after eleven years of not searching, he remembered his job interview. He had met the man that had changed his sister’s life. He had shaken his hand. He had been inside his office. He hadn’t seen the photo of his sister on the desk. He hadn’t thought about what she would look like until she was in front of him. He hadn’t even known her last name.

She looked so healthy; a complete switch from his last looks at her. He didn’t go searching but he had never forgotten.

When she realized it was him she had thrown her arms around him and the entire world seemed brighter, suddenly.

He looked down at his now-damp uniform, still not really processing what had just happened.

“Where have you been?” She exclaimed, but not angrily as he had thought. “You couldn’t find me? You have to come meet my Dad!” She had grabbed his arm, pulling him and his broom behind him, the 9 year old that he remembered.

“Octavia, I can’t,” he stopped.

She turned, “Why?”

“He doesn’t know I know you and I don’t want him to.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why?”

“Do you seriously still do this?”

She looked down, “No. Sorry. But we’re having a dinner party tonight. Please come.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I’m busy tonight.”

“Okay. Well I’ll see you around!”

“I guess so.”

That had been a lie. There were a million reasons why Kane shouldn’t know about who he was. There would be a million assumptions and a million problems. He didn’t want anyone else to know, either. Imagine what people would think? He got his job just because he’s Kane’s adopted son. He wasn’t. He never would be. He didn’t want to. Did he?

Was there still time to make it to this dinner party?


	7. The Dinner Party: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a Spotify playlist of the songs that is playing during dinner (and that I'm listening to as I write it). I'll keep adding to it. https://open.spotify.com/user/21qeoxwrtedhxeynt64mxh3da/playlist/4SC1vbVPBagPCH9IqRiAGx

 

That had been a lie. There were a million reasons why Kane shouldn’t know about who he was. There would be a million assumptions and a million problems. He didn’t want anyone else to know, either. Imagine what people would think? He got his job just because he’s Kane’s adopted son. He wasn’t. He never would be. He didn’t want to. Did he?

Was there still time to make it to this dinner party?

 

******************************************************************************

 

**Octavia**

10 plates, 10 chairs, 10 sets of cutlery, 10 glasses, was she forgetting anything else?

Maybe some flowers from the garden would be nice. She passed through the kitchen to the patio, where she chose some yellow tulips. Entering the house again, she asked Kane where a vase would be.

“Check under the stairs,” he laughed, watching Lincoln toss the salad in the bowl and then toss some onto Ilian.

Under the stairs, indeed. She produced a large, glass vase and filled a third with water, placing the flowers inside. It all went out into the dining room, the centerpiece pulling it all together.

After all of the food was prepared, the beverages ready to be poured and a playlist set, ready to start, they chose their seats, all together and sat. Nothing left to do; Marcus’ nerves began to get the best of him. Octavia could see it in his eyes.

“Excited, Dad?”

“I suppose,” he said, no expression.

“Who are you more afraid of, Abby or Jaha?” Lincoln asked.

“I look forward to meeting this mysterious and terrifying Jaha,” Ilian smiled. “See if he lives up to the hype.”

“He lives up to it and then some,” Marcus mumbled.

“He doesn’t,” Octavia insisted. “He’s a person just like all of us.”

After a pause, Lincoln chimed in, “What time is everyone meant to show up?”

“Six,” Octavia answered, “any time now.”

**Wells**

Pulling up, Wells looked out the window at the house that he had been to so many times before as a kid. It wasn’t as big as the one he and his father lived in. But it was the perfect size for two people. This was the ideal home in every way.

It was large enough to have one of those circling driveways, though. With white brick and the occasional vine hanging down from a pot on a balcony window, it was quaint, in a way. Wells remembered that coming here was a treat; visiting Kane and Octavia, a prize.

Getting out of the vehicle, Wells spotted Murphy right away. He seemed to be trying to hide in the shadows. Wells expected to see John Murphy with a sparkling motorcycle to match his façade and yet, when they got closer, they saw the little yellow motorized scooter that he had driven in on.

“Good evening, John,” Thelonious shook Murphy’s hand.

Murphy turned to greet Wells, shaking his hand. They all moved toward the front door, Wells and Murphy trailing behind.

“Thanks for showing up,” Murphy muttered.

Wells looked over, perplexed, “it’s six. We’re right on time.”

“My Dad always said that if you’re not five minutes early, you’re late,” he pursed his lips, “and I wasn’t about to go in without you.”

Once they reached the door, Thelonious knocked and handed Wells the bottle of wine he had been holding, “you give a gift to the hosts when you come for dinner. It’s only polite. Remember that.”

Wells looked over to Murphy, who was supressing a laugh. His father was always treating him like a child. He was nearly 18 years old. Or as he liked to think of it, on the precipice of freedom.

Octavia opened the door, just as beautiful as when they were young. Still the brightest smile he had ever seen.

Thelonious entered first, placing a hand on Octavia’s shoulder, gripping the hands of the three other men in the room, taking a seat at the other head of the table, whereas Marcus sat opposite.

Wells handed Octavia the bottle of wine and tried to shake her hand, but she went in for a hug instead.

“How’ve you been?” she beamed, arms still around him.

“Good,” he lied. “What about you?”

“Grand,” she let go and ushered him in.

Wells sat on his father’s right, where Thelonious had motioned him to. Murphy made his way over to Kane’s right, which his father had instructed, Wells supposed.

Sitting back in this dining room, so many years later, was nearly like coming home; like taking a fresh breath of air after being underground for six years. Seeing family photos around made him nostalgic for something he’d never had.

“Wells?” Octavia had been calling his name.

Wells’ eyes snapped over, “sorry.”

“I just wanted to introduce you and Mr. Murphy to Lincoln and Ilian, here.”

He felt so stupid. He would get an earful for this later. Ilian had been sitting next to him for a full two minutes and he didn’t even introduce himself. He’d be kicking himself in a few hours.

He and Murphy shook the hands of the two men and sat back in their chairs. An awkward silence fell over the room.

“The Griffins should be here any time now,” Octavia offered, trying to add something to the cloud over their heads.

Thelonious looked to her. “Excellent.”

 

**Murphy**

John Murphy had been to dinner parties before. He was not the type to turn down free food. However, this was by far the worst one he had attended.

This was a nice house; a nice dining room. He could see from where he sat that the kitchen was still in disarray. A few of the items in the sink were able to signify what they were having for dinner. The rug on the stairs was well worn on every second step. Seeing that the pillows were all on one side of the couch told him that someone usually sat there alone, watching television or reading a book. They didn’t use coasters because there was a distinct ring on the side table that would match a glass perfectly. Most of the DVDs on the shelf were still in the packaging and there was dust on all of the family photos but one. But he could only see the back side of it from here. He made a mental note to take a look when he could; when it wasn’t rude.

He shook the hands of the large men on either side of Octavia and glanced over at Wells, who looked like he was about to throw up. Octavia mentioned something about the Griffins and the silence continued.

The man across from him who had been identified as Lincoln spoke up. “So, Mr. Murphy?”

“Murphy’s fine.”

“Sure. How do you know the Jahas?”

These are not the questions he wanted to be fielding. “Oh. Umm, Mr. Jaha knew my father. He was kind enough to get me a job at the park.”

Ilian perked up. “Yes! I recognize you now! Are you the one hauling around all of those water bottles?”

“That’s me. I-“ He was cut off.

“Mr. Murphy was a great man. He passed away a few years ago. After the recent passing of his mother, we’ve been watching out for John here.”

Kane looked at Thelonious with a new light. “That’s very generous, Thelonious. Has he been living with you two?”

Murphy tried to answer but when he was interrupted again, he supposed that Mr. Jaha didn’t want him saying more than he should. The only other people who knew about his “detective work” were the two people that he arrived with.

“John insists upon staying on his own. He’s been living in our pool house.”

Murphy assumed that this was common knowledge but Wells now stared at him with what looked halfway between betrayal and a sense of new opportunity.

Octavia nearly read his mind. “It must be nice having someone else around, Wells.”

As he was about to answer, Thelonious chose to voice his thoughts instead.

“Wells has been busy lately. He’s being groomed to take over the park once I decide to retire.”

 

**Octavia**

Now here Octavia was, thinking that the best person to take over the park would be _her_ father. The person who had been working the hardest and had the most stake in the company after Jaha.

Looking over to Wells, it seemed as though he agreed with her. Even though she hadn’t seen him in such a long time, that piece of their childhood friendship shone through. She could see the pleading in his eyes. This is not what he wanted either. How someone like Thelonious could raise someone like Wells was unbelievable.

After another uncomfortable silence, Murphy chimed in. He seemed nice enough; very polite although it seemed as though he was potentially putting it on. Perhaps, like Wells, like her father, like many, he too was afraid of the wrath of Jaha. Octavia wondered if Murphy had had a choice in working at the park. Whether staying in the pool house was what he wanted.

“Every time I walk by, you two always seem like you’re on a mission,” Murphy offered. “What is it that you do at the park?”

“Indoor landscaping,” Lincoln answered.

“We’re making sure that there isn’t dirt on the walkways,” Ilian smiled, “and that the trees are getting enough water.”

“Well next week I’ll make sure that you two trees get enough water,” Murphy joked.

There was a tinkle of laughter and back to silence. Octavia looked over to their big grandfather clock. 6:05. Where were the Griffins? Clarke could salvage this situation. Clarke could make anything interesting.

If they had come earlier, they would be spared this torture. Waiting was the only option. How many more small talk conversations could they make and break until they arrived?

She wondered what Bellamy was up to. “I’m busy tonight.” What was he doing? How long would it take? She never told him what time dinner started. He could still make it. She didn’t have his number. How could she tell him? Did he know where they lived?

 

**Wells**

It was safe to say that Wells was prepared to stay silent for the rest of his life. He was practically melting into the chair he was sitting on. He was in his head so much that he hardly noticed the doorbell ring. Only when Octavia got up to answer it, did it click that he would have to interact with even more people tonight; that the embarrassment would not simply be limited to the people who already thought of him as a shut in.

It was nice to see Abby again. Wells used to see Abby just as much as he would see Kane and Octavia, but lately, just like everyone it seemed, no one really made an effort anymore.

Another young man entered after her, he recognized him from far away as one of Charlotte’s friends. Perhaps he could find a way to get some information out of him. Maybe if he wasn’t so damn awkward and so terribly bad with words.

There was one chair left to be filled. Octavia was blocking his view by stepping through the doorway to hug the final guest. When she pulled away, Wells had to turn to hide how hot his face was getting. This wasn’t good.


	8. The Dinner Party: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a Spotify playlist of the songs that is playing during dinner (and that I'm listening to as I write it). I'll keep adding to it. https://open.spotify.com/user/21qeoxwrtedhxeynt64mxh3da/playlist/4SC1vbVPBagPCH9IqRiAGx

 

There was one chair left to be filled. Octavia was blocking his view by stepping through the doorway to hug the final guest. When she pulled away, Wells had to turn to hide how hot his face was getting. This wasn’t good.

 

******************************************************************************

 

**Wells**

The sudden pain in his chest was not a great distraction. Charlotte sat down opposite him at the table and he tried to prevent his eyes from becoming saucers.

 

**Murphy**

Wells’ eyes had become saucers. Murphy had no idea what was going on in Wells’ head but he was definitely not subtle.

Murphy chuckled to himself when the guy from the first aid tent sat down beside him and set down a bag next to his chair. He seemed incredibly nervous and uncomfortable.

Abby, the head of first aid reached out to him, “Murphy, good to see you. This is Eric, I don’t know if you’ve met officially.”

Murphy held out his hand and Eric took it, “Jackson,” he mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

“Bark, woof,” Murphy joked. Jackson flinched. Murphy nudged his shoulder, “it’s nice to meet you.” Jackson smiled.

When he looked back up, Wells was still staring at Clarke, who he had become acquainted with yesterday.

As Ilian and Lincoln got up to grab the salad from the kitchen, Murphy cleared his throat quietly. It was just loud enough for Wells to look over at him, a look of panic on his face.

Murphy constructed his best and most secretive ‘what is going on with you?’ face and Wells answered back with what Murphy deemed to be a ‘someone please kill me right now or I’ll do it myself,” look, which answered exactly zero questions.

 

**Clarke**

Dinners with the Kanes were fun. Clarke always loved joking around with Octavia and her boys. But this time there was an undercurrent of something strange, an ulterior motive that she could sense between Kane and her mother and she couldn’t get it out of her head.

To top it all off, The Jaha kid was being really weird and wouldn’t stop looking at her. He probably noticed that bump in her hair that she tried to comb out after having it in a ponytail all day. This was the opposite of ideal.

She thanked Ilian when he set her salad down in front of her and as she drizzled the dressing overtop, she sneaked another look at Jaha Jr.

He was still looking. Honestly, it wasn’t a creepy sort of look, mostly just a constant expression of surprise and she wasn’t sure why. She passed the dressing on to her mother (“Thank you, Honey.”) and looked back. She smiled at him, hoping it might reassure him that she wasn’t planning on murdering him, but he looked away as soon as she did.

 “How have you been, C?” Octavia asks.

“Pretty good. Things have been busy,” Clarke answered, “but not in a bad way. You know me.”

“She loves to work!” Jackson added. “Every day I wonder if she’ll come home with us or if she’ll just stay and make sure no one drowns overnight.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “would that be so terrible?”

“Yeah because Murphy would have to be there to make sure you stay hydrated,” Ilian laughs.

She looked back over to the Jaha boy. He was smiling. She wondered why she hadn’t spent time with him before, if he had always existed, just around the corner. She hadn’t seen Octavia much as a child either, though. Clarke was always with her father back then. Why didn’t the Jaha boy work in the park?

He looked back and his smile stayed. It would be nice if he wouldn’t treat her like a serial killer anymore.

 

**Octavia**

Once salads were finished, the boys went and grabbed the main course: pasta, her favorite. Once everyone had a plate, she took a bite. It was fantastic, as always.

Jackson piped up, looking over to Kane, “this is really delicious, thank you.”

“Ahh, I wish I could take the credit but this is Lincoln and Ilian’s creation,” her father smiled.

“Ilian has an incredible garden,” Octavia chimed, “and Lincoln crafts the best sauce. We just have to put it together.”

“And that’s the easy part,” Kane joked, looking over to Abby, who smiled back.

Octavia was so excited to see them getting along really well. If what she thought was happening worked out, she might get a brand new sister out of it.

A meek knock from the door stopped conversation entirely. There were confused faces all around the table. Ilian was counting all of the guests and then counting again on his fingers. They must have imagined it. Then, a more stable knock rang through the house.

“Are we waiting on any more people?” Lincoln whispered to her, leaning in.

Ilian leaned in as well, “I counted _three times_ ,” he said, waving his ten fingers in their faces.

“I don’t know,” Octavia replied, and just then remembered that afternoon. Bellamy.

“Hello,” Kane said from the door.

“Hello,” a low voice said back.

“May I help you?”

“Uhhh… No. I- I have to go.”

She rushed to the open door, “Stop! Dad, this is Bellamy. He’s my-“

As Kane was looking down at her, she looked to Bellamy, who shook his head slightly.

“Friend,” she finished, “My friend. I invited him.”

“Well, if you say so,” Kane let Bellamy enter. “I wish you would have said something. Is he a boyfriend of yours?”

“What?!” Octavia exclaimed.

“What?” Ilian and Lincoln said, simultaneously.

“No. He’s not. Gross,” Octavia exclaimed. “I mean, no offence.”

Bellamy had the most forced smile on his face.

 

**Wells**

Wells had seen this guy before! He always had headphones in and liked to sweep things over and over even when they weren’t dirty. This was like celebrity after celebrity was walking through the door.

Lincoln pulled Bellamy up a chair while Ilian went and got him a table setting and a salad. Bellamy was squished in between Wells and his father. It was probably the worst place to be, but at least Wells didn’t have to sit beside him anymore.

It seemed like everyone was paying attention to this new table addition, including Charlotte (whose name he _still_ didn’t know). He wondered if she looked at everyone like that or if that was saved specifically for tall, dark, handsome mysterious dudes that crash private dinner parties. He wasn’t bitter.

Bellamy was introduced to everyone at the table he didn’t already know and, of course, when it came to Charlotte, Jackson decided to chime in.

“You can just call her Princess,” he chuckled. Murphy thought it was funny, too, but Wells didn’t know why. It was incredibly frustrating.

“So tell us more about yourself, Bellamy,” Abby interjected, “what do you do at the park? How do you know Octavia?”

Bellamy tensed up slightly, then. Wells didn’t think it was noticeable unless you were sitting shoulder to shoulder with him.

“I do custodian work, mainly,” he answered, quietly. “A lot of mopping up spilled drinks, really.”

He ignored the Octavia question entirely. Charlotte hadn’t taken her eyes off of him since he sat down.

 

**Murphy**

This had gotten interesting. Suddenly there was a mystery to solve. Murphy ate his pasta in silence while other pleasantries were exchanged, watching Bellamy’s face, watching Octavia’s face, watching Wells’ face.

A lull in conversation made Murphy ask a question that had been on his mind for weeks.

“Hey, who came up with Parkadia Falls?”

“Well, it was a decision between Marcus, Thelonious and I,” Abby answered.

“I meant the name,” Murphy clarified.

Abby didn’t answer. Clarke set a hand on her mother’s back. “My father had the idea.”

“Jake,” Kane added.

The atmosphere became sombre. Murphy had to turn it back around or Jaha might not let him use the pool house anymore as punishment. “I only ask because it seems really foreboding, doesn’t it?”

“What do you mean?” Jackson asked.

“I’m just saying. Doesn’t it sound sort of like someone’s making a prophecy? Parkadia Falls. Parkadia will fall.”

“I guess,” Jackson mumbled.

Kane started to snicker into his empty bowl. “Parkadia Falls.”

Abby smiled. “We didn’t consider that.”

“I’ll never be able to think of it normally anymore,” Kane laughed.

Mission accomplished.

“I think it’s time for dessert!” Octavia exclaimed.

Jackson pulled up the bag he had set down before and brought out a cheesecake.

“We were just going to buy one,” Clarke confessed, “But Jackson insisted on making it himself.”

“I hope you like it,” he announced, “and by that I mean, you better like it because it took me three cakes to get it right.”

“Three?” Abby repeated, surprised. “What did you do with the others?”

“Potentially maybe they’ve gone somewhere,” Clarke responded.

“Potentially maybe,” Jackson laughed, “we’ll never see them again.”

Abby shook her head and as the cake was cut and passed out, Murphy spotted the glances between Bellamy and Octavia and he needed to know more.


	9. The Dinner Party: Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a Spotify playlist of the songs that is playing during dinner (and that I'm listening to as I write it). I'll keep adding to it. https://open.spotify.com/user/21qeoxwrtedhxeynt64mxh3da/playlist/4SC1vbVPBagPCH9IqRiAGx

 

Abby shook her head and as the cake was cut and passed out, Murphy spotted the glances between Bellamy and Octavia and he needed to know more.

 

******************************************************************************

 

**Clarke**

Jackson had made the cheesecake perfectly (after many attempts) and it was gone just as quickly as it had been brought out. Kane suggested that everyone make their way out to the patio to do some visiting to end the evening. Clarke started clearing up her plate.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Ilian reached out. “We’ll get those after.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Lincoln replied.

She set her plate back down and as everyone filed out into the back garden, Clarke lagged behind.

The Jaha boy was slowly pushing in his chair. He looked up into the room, noticing that he was the last one. He took a deep breath.

Clarke knew that feeling. After a stressful night with a bunch of mostly-strangers, it’s nice to have a moment to yourself. She didn’t mean to startle him when he turned around and saw her there.

“Hi,” he blurted out.

“Hi,” she answered. “I don’t think we’ve met, actually.”

He reached for her outstretched hand after wiping it on his pants first.

“Our parents’ lives were so intertwined and yet I had only heard stories of you,” she smiled.

“I knew Abby had a family I just never got a chance…” he trailed off.

“Even when we would come to your house for dinner…”

“Sometimes it feels like my Dad is actively preventing me from making friends.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m Wells.”

She laughed and put her hand out again, “I’m Clarke.” She realized that she had literally just shook his hand and put it back down at her side.

“Clarke.”

“That’s me. It’s nice to meet you, finally.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” he smiled.

They made their way into the kitchen; the middle man between the dining room and the patio.

“So I’d love to hear more about you. What have you been doing all of these years? What do you do for the company? Something much more prestigious than a lifeguard, I’m sure.”

Wells froze; apparently not something he was interested in talking about.

“Do you ever go into the park?”

“No.”

“Really?” How strange. “Well I’d give you a tour if you ever wanted to.”

“Thanks.” He went to go join the rest of the group without her.

As he was leaving, Bellamy entered. He gave her a curt nod and started looking in the cabinets, leaving them open as he searched. He found a cup and began to fill it up with water from the tap. He started to walk about outside when she stopped him.

“Usually you close the cupboards once you’re finished.”

Bellamy looked back, and then to her. He shrugged, “what’s wrong with a little chaos?”

He tried to walk about out but she stopped him, “sounds like something Octavia would say.”

It was almost like she had suddenly been closed inside a freezer. She didn’t think she had been given such a stare in her life.

“What are talking about?” He glared, definitely knowing what she was talking about.

“I just think I’ve heard her say that before,” Clarke smirked.

“Listen, I don’t really do subtext, so if you’re confronting me about something, just do it.”

“Listen, I don’t really do dishonesty, so if you’re lying about something, just tell me.” She shot back.

“I’m not lying about anything.”

“By omission, maybe?”

“Drop it, Nancy Drew.”

Clarke turned back into the kitchen. “I’ll ask O about it then.”

“I don’t care what you do,” Bellamy snapped, slamming the cup onto the counter, without drinking from it. He stormed back into the backyard.

Clarke couldn’t help but close the cupboards before she left.

 

**Bellamy**

He found Octavia and pulled her off of Lincoln’s lap, to a more secluded area of the yard.

“What’s wrong?” O asked.

“I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“No! I want to hear all about how you’ve been, what you’ve been doing,” she whispered.

Bellamy sighed. “Look, it’s weird that I’m here. It’s all too obvious. I’m getting suspicious looks from half of the people here.”

“Why does it have to be a secret? Why can’t we celebrate that we’re finally together again?”

“We’re not together again,” his voice cracked. “It was a quick reunion.”

“What, you’re going to avoid me now?” she argued.

“I won’t need to avoid you. I’ll quit.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Bellamy, why?”

“This was a mistake.”

 

**Octavia**

“So maybe this wasn’t the best way for you to meet everyone. So what? Next time will be better.”

He scoffed. “Next time?”

She tried to grab his arm as he slipped out but she only got a hold of his shirtsleeve and he yanked it away.

After taking a moment to collect herself, she went and sat back down with the rest of the company. He wasn’t wrong. She had noticed the looks. This had been the exact opposite of what she had always dreamed would happen once she saw her brother again.

Knowing that he had been running from her was heartbreaking. But what was really troubling was that she didn’t know why.

Sitting down between her and Ilian, Murphy turned to her. “Hey, how do you know that guy?”

Octavia heard Clarke and Jackson’s conversation fade; she could tell they were listening.

Bellamy really only seemed to care that her father was kept in the dark. If she was wrong about that… oops.

Dad and Abby were on the other side of the yard, having their own private conversation.

“He’s my brother,” she told Murphy, not looking at him. She didn’t care who knew.

Once she turned to look at him, Murphy’s face turned into a smile. Was this about to be an “I knew it moment” that Clarke could also get in on? Then the whole party would be about who could tell and who couldn’t and the whole park would know by tomorrow.

“Cool,” Murphy concluded. “Is it a secret?”

Octavia was surprised. “Kind of.”

“Gotcha,” he got up and walked back over to where he was sitting with Wells.

She had misjudged him.

 

**Wells**

This revelation was not interesting to Wells. He was still stuck thinking about Clarke. This wasn’t a “wow she wants to know more about me” feeling. This was a “literally nothing about me is interesting and I have no idea what I would even say” feeling.

She offered to give him a tour of the park. What were the logistics of that? Could he possibly talk his father into letting him go? And if he couldn’t, could he find a way to go behind his back?

He was hardly listening to Murphy’s small talk about his quiet new suspicions about the stolen items until something he said caught his attention.

“What did you just say?”

“Finn. You know, the guy who does the zip line?”

Wells looked at him for a while.

Weirded out, Murphy continued, “or maybe you don’t know?”

“Finn.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s he like?”

Murphy chuckled, “he’s insufferable. What do you know about him?”

Wells looked down, “I know he hangs out with Clarke a lot.”

“He doesn’t hang out with her. He annoys her.”

“They’re always walking around together,” Wells insisted.

Murphy laughed. “He chases her. She’s running away, Wells.”

Wells’ day had just been made.

 

**Murphy**

The picture frame that he had noticed at the beginning of the night held the photo of Octavia that Murphy had seen in Kane’s office on his first day. He had taken a quick peek as they were moving from the dining room to the yard. He really had been hoping for something more scandalous.

Now that the night was nearly over, it was time to see if anything he had learned could be applied to what he was really around to do. He spoke out loud to Wells, the only person who he was able to confide in, but he wasn’t listening.

If he was being truthful, Murphy could have found a job himself after his mother passed. Jaha thought that he was providing him with a home and a position at the park as a favor to Alex, Murphy’s father. But in reality, Murphy was doing the same thing.

Alex had been friends with Jaha. He had never been a whisperer and Murphy had heard his parents talk at night. He’d heard the stories that Jaha had told his friend in confidence. How after the death of Wells’ mother, he had felt unprepared and underqualified to raise him. How he had thought multiple times about how much he felt like he had failed, hiring babysitter after babysitter to deal with the kid rather than do anything himself. Murphy had chosen to be babied, another favor for a man who would never be around to see it.

 

**Clarke**

As the Jahas left, and Octavia and the boys went in to clear the table, Kane, Abby, Jackson and herself were the only remaining guests.

Jackson took her inside to help clean up and give her mother some privacy.

Once everything had been washed and put back in place, Lincoln and Ilian said their goodbyes to Octavia. They went back to their apartment and O went upstairs to her room, after Jackson assured her that they didn’t mind waiting alone.

Abby finally came and found them, a smile on her face, and as Kane leaned down to kiss Clarke’s hand goodbye, she finally accepted what the future would bring.

The door locked behind them and, as always, Clarke was looking forward to going to work the next morning.


	10. A New Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friends: I went through a long bout of writer's block but we're back! Thanks for sticking with me.  
> P.S. Re read the prologue to fully appreciate the parallels at the end!

BANG BANG BANG

“Wha?”

BANG BANG BANG

“Was happenin’?”

BANG BANG BANG

“Dammit.”

BANG BANG BANG

“I’M COMING! JESUS.”

BANG BANG BANG

“What!?”

“I want to help.”

“Help with what?”

“With your mission.”

“What?”

“To figure out who’s been taking stuff.”

“You aren’t even allowed in the park.”

“But what if I was?”

***

It had been a week in the making. Wells had been sneaking out of the house every night so make the thirty foot journey to their pool house, where Murphy was staying.

Wells was so surprised to hear that he’d been living so close to him for a full month without him knowing. He didn’t have to spend every evening alone. His father didn’t like him leaving the property and Murphy was the loophole he was looking for.

They’d gone over everything that Murphy had collected so far in preparation to do the single most terrifying thing that Wells had ever done: he was going to ask his father if Wells could work alongside Murphy in the park. He was getting ready for a debate. They had gone over everything that Murphy had found in the park so far, looked for any links, try to find anything suspicious. But alas, Murphy wasn’t a detective. He was a teenager doing a favor.

Wells had suggested a role play where Wells would speak as himself and Murphy could be Jaha. Murphy immediately turned down this idea and yet somehow there they were.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Junior?”

“He would never say that.”

“He does if he’s me.”

“Fine.”

“Dope.”

“Dad?”

“Yes, Junior?”

“I’ve been talking to Murphy lately.”

“That John is such a nice and handsome young man with a good, strong jaw.”

“Whatever. Listen, he’s let me in on some of his investigations into those thefts.”

“What a kind gentleman. A king among men.”

“Are you going to take this seriously?”

“I am.”

“Can you not with the weird, low, Santa Claus type voice?”

“Fine.”

“Anyway, DAD, he was saying that he really wishes that he could have a partner. Like a second opinion on his ideas and theories.”

“Well it’s a good thing that you’ve been around for that.”

“Yeah, but I was hoping that maybe I could help him during the day, too?”

“Pardon?”

“Like maybe I could catch some of the things that he hadn’t caught yet. No one knows the park like I do.”

“That’s true… But Wells, I’m trying to groom you to take over the company.”

“I’ve been sufficiently groomed, Dad. I promise.”

“I don’t know…”

“I really think that I could be an asset to him, Dad.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And he’s my friend.”

“And you have so few of those.”

“Hey, I said something nice.”

“Keep it in your pants. I’m your father.”

“Fine. What do you say, Dad?”

“How could I say no, Junior?”

***

Murphy patted him on the back. “The training montage is over, man.”

Wells took a deep breath.

“Hey,” Murphy said, casually. “I need you! You can tell him that.”

“He needs me, Dad!” Wells called off into nowhere.

“What’s that?” Thelonious called from the other room.

Wells and Murphy began a silent charade that ended in Murphy running out the back door of the house and Wells bracing himself to do what may change his life. When he entered, his father sat in his bad-guy type velvet chair, reading the newspaper.

“Dad?”

“Yes?”

“I’ve been talking to Murphy lately.”

“Oh? What about?”

“He’s let me in on some of his investigations into the thefts.”

“Indeed. And how is that going?”

“He’s hit a bit of a block.”

“Is that so? Unfortunate.”

“Yeah. He said that it’s been really helpful to have me around for a second opinion and to bounce theories off of.”

“Well I’m glad you’ve been there for him.”

“Right. I actually had a question about that.”

“Alright.” He looked up from his paper.

“Okay so we’ve been thinking that maybe I could potentially be his partner or his assistant or whatever works and maybe I could potentially work with him during the day inside the park because no one knows the park like I do and maybe I could catch some of the things that he missed and he’s my friend and I think he really needs me and I think that I could actually help him out with this and you want this person caught right? I mean I know that were grooming me to take over the business but I think that I’ve learned a lot already and maybe I could just take some time off from that and do this for a while?” All of this came out very quickly.

“I think that’s a splendid idea.”

“…You do?”

“I do.” Thelonious put down his paper and put his hand and Wells’ shoulder as he left the room.

***

“Something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t feel right.”

“Who cares? He’s letting you in the park. Who cares if it doesn’t feel right? Haven’t you been waiting for an opportunity like this?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you most excited about?”

Wells’ face broke into a huge grin. “I want to meet Emori.”

Murphy laughed, “Careful.”

“I’ve just heard so much about her.”

“Who else?”

“Miller.”

“He’s a good guy.”

“And Raven. And Jasper.”

“And Finn?”

“Not so much.”

Murphy shook his hand. “You’ll be great.”

***

Wells hadn’t seen the park from below yet. There was an entrance that came straight into Kane’s office. The anticipation was killing him.

Kane handed him his red polo shirt and his khaki shorts. Murphy was holding the flip flops that they had purchased the day before.

“Now everyone that knows you has been told to keep your surname under wraps, Wells. We know that that might cause some problems.”

“Thank you, Mr. Kane.”

Marcus flinched.

“Marcus,” Murphy corrected. “Or Kane. Never Mr. Kane. That’s far too formal.”

Marcus smiled. “Change rooms are to the left!”

Wells smiled. “I know.”


End file.
